PONTIAC, Mich. — The National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®) has recognized the Oakland County Board of Commissioners as a “Local Champion” for its efforts to promote firearm safety in the region. The recognition comes as NSSF launches its fourth annual Project ChildSafe S.A.F.E. Summer campaign to emphasize the importance of responsible firearm storage — particularly while children are home from school and more likely to be unattended.

Following its Third Annual Gun Safety Awareness Day, The Oakland County Board of Commissioners was recognized for its multi-faceted efforts to address gun safety and firearms misuse, including implementation of two wide-reaching programs – the Gun Safety Lock Giveaway and LOCK-IT-UP, introduced earlier this month.

The Board has developed partnerships with more than 30 local law enforcement agencies (including Oakland County Sheriff) as well as local businesses and organizations such as Crime Stoppers. The Board has conducted a series of informational sessions on gun violence prevention and mental health first aid training for peace officers and the public. In addition, the Board aired firearm safety public service announcements featuring broadcast personalities Diana Lewis and Mojo in the Morning on local radio and television stations including ABC 7, CBS 62 and CW 50.

“Our goal is to continue to create various outreach efforts from developing public service announcements to holding our annual free gun lock giveaway,” says Oakland County Commissioner Bill Dwyer, Chair of the Public Services Committee and its’s Study Group on Gun Violence. “We want to encourage gun owners to be responsible as well as help to protect our children and our community by locking up and properly storing firearms when not in use.”

“We want to encourage and ensure that the conversation about gun safety is ongoing,” says Oakland County Commissioner Marcia Gershenson. “We encourage the public to follow our efforts on social media and visit our website at www.oakgov.com/boc.”

S.A.F.E. Summer is an extension of NSSF’s Project ChildSafe campaign. Consistent with Project ChildSafe’s overarching message of “Own It? Respect It. Secure It,” the S.A.F.E. Summer effort is a reminder that proper firearm storage is the #1 way to help prevent firearm accidents, theft and misuse.

“S.A.F.E.” serves as an acronym for Store your firearms responsibly when not in use; Be Aware of those around you who should not have unauthorized access to guns; Focus on your responsibility as a firearm owner and Educate yourself and others about safe firearm handling and storage. The effort is focused on providing education and tools that helps gun owners take responsible action to keep their families and communities safer.

“We support Project ChildSafe because of its exceptional work to educate the public on firearm safety,” says Oakland County Commissioner Janet Jackson. “Project ChildSafe has been an outstanding partner and a wonderful resource as we address this multi-layer issue.”

Sharing this sentiment, Oakland County Board Vice Chairman Michael Spisz stated, “When I envisioned the free gun lock giveaway effort and the partnership with the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s Project ChildSafe, I hoped for success, but my expectations have been exceeded. We have been able to giveaway nearly 10,000 free safety gun locks since 2014 as a result of our collaborative effort.”

“We’re very grateful for the work of people like those who serve as members of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners,” said NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti. “They are great examples of how the firearms-owning community is committed to safety and personal responsibility, and their work is instrumental in helping reduce firearm accidents.”

NSSF launched Project ChildSafe in 1999 (prior to 2003 the program was called Project HomeSafe) as a nationwide initiative to promote firearms responsibility and provide safety education to all gun owners. While children are a focus, Project ChildSafe is intended to help young people and adults practice greater firearm safety as well. Through partnerships with more than 15,000 law enforcement agencies, the program has provided more than 37 million free firearm safety kits to gun owners in all 50 states and the five U.S. territories. That’s in addition to the more than 70 million free locking devices manufacturers have included with new firearms sold since 1998 and continue to do today.

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About Project ChildSafeNSSF, the trade association of the firearms industry, launched Project ChildSafe in 1999 (prior to 2003 the program was called Project HomeSafe) as a nationwide initiative to promote firearms responsibility and provide safety education to gun owners. Since 1999, the program has provided more than 37 million free firearm safety kits that include a gun lock to gun owners in all 50 states and five U.S. territories. That’s in addition to the more than 70 million free locking devices manufacturers have included, and continue to include, with new firearms sold since 1998. Project ChildSafe is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit charitable organization. All donations to the organization are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. More information is available at projectchildsafe.org.

About NSSFThe National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 13,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. For more information, visit www.nssf.org.